Laughter of Sages and Preachers

"One of the big differences between a genuine sage and a preacher is gaiety. When the sage laughs it is a belly laugh; when the preacher laughs, which is all too seldom, it is on the wrong side of the face."

~ Henry Miller

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Humanity has always struggled to understand Creation, and Man's place in it. Creation is so infinitely vast and complex that it is impossible to understand, but it has not stopped man from trying. 

Some wise and enlightened beings had credible answers, and this illuminated many minds and souls. Some of this wisdom was retained in the memories of others and they in turn wrote many texts, which in turn repeatedly produced more memories and texts. Mankind has already drowned in an ocean of memories, texts and analysis.

Teachers that came earlier had themselves experienced much. They considered teaching a calling, and they shared their wisdom freely and widely,  in addition to their usually working at some honest profession to earn a living. 

Teachers can only share what they have experienced.  Now we have people who have experienced little or nothing and teach for a living.  Teaching, the noblest of activities has been mostly reduced to a chore. Its called professional preaching. Such activity is devoid of life.  

So abundant are preachers, that if one were to throw a stone, randomly in any direction its quite likely that it will hit a preacher. We now live in a world full of preachers, issuing instructions to us  about every conceivable subject and with great authority. Preachers blindly reproduce religious, scientific and philosophical texts, thoughts and ideas of other people, and 'authorities' inevitably transforming life into drudgery. 

Not all teachers are preachers, there are also sages. 

A sage is someone with both intellectual and spiritual knowledge and wisdom and has usually experienced what they teach. When words and actions are born from one's own mind and being, then they have a life all of their own.  They infuse excitement and meaning to life, that is to be lived.

Question is, how does one differentiate a sage from a preacher?
One of the answers is gaiety or happiness. 

Fake or insincere people often possess enormous data some true, most borrowed and a lot of it cooked up.  They are usually out of tune with humanity, creation and life in general. They can easily be spotted by their dull, boring and tiring manner, which is devoid of any excitement or joy. To make up for quality they demonstrate seriousness as a means to show importance.

Truly spiritual people are seriously deep, but from them wells out a joy, a bliss so endearing that it positively transforms the thoughts and character of people around them.

Take a look around, are you amongst preachers or sages?

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Henry Miller

American writer Henry Valentine Miller (1891 – 1980) developed a new sort of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical reflection, explicit language, sex, surrealist free association and mysticism. 

Most of his writing, literary criticism, and paintings are based on his experiences in New York and Paris. Talented, and outspoken, hence controversial and feared, his writing was banned in many countries including the United States until 1961.

Quote: by Henry Miller
Article Written by: Gurvinder Singh